Stursberg’s illness didn’t just affect her family--customers were also deeply saddened by her battle.

“Customers had benefits. They brought flowers. She was loved by all,” Reid Stursberg said.

In addition to her 20-year tenure as bartender, Stursberg also was a philanthropist and a lover of animals. According to her mother, she held annual benefits including the “Sexy Black Benefit for Black Cats and Dogs.”

She was also happily married. Stursberg met Ian Tuggle when he stepped into the bar as a customer. They became fast friends, then a couple. On March 3, 2004, the 10th anniversary of their first date, they married.

“She loved working here. She was more the shy type but she was a fantastic person,” Tuggle said. “She made everyone feel welcome.”

A notice of Stursberg’s death was posted on Gold Star’s Facebook page earlier Monday, and fans of the bar posted sentimental messages about how Gold Star was the only bar that ever felt like home to them.